What are infrastructure technologies (infratechnologies), and what role do they play in supporting innovation?

Key findings:

• Infratechnologies support the processes and practices of creating new technology. They include technologies for developing and applying standards, codes and quality assurance.
• The report highlights four ways that infratechnologies improve industrial competitiveness by helping to create new, more efficient production models.

No-one doubts that technology is vital to growth and competitiveness. Both the government and opposition have highlighted tech as a central part of the UK’s business growth strategy. But what does a technology-based strategy actually look like?

This report shines a spotlight on infrastructure technologies – or infratechnologies – such as the standards, testing, certification and feasibility studies that underpin tech-heavy industries.

We look at what infratechnologies are, how they work and the vital role they play in supporting innovation, using measurement and standards organisations as a case in point.

Author

Agnès Estibals, in collaboration with the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), the British Standards Institution (BSI) and the Technology Strategy Board (TSB)